


Jump into the heat

by MoonandWinter



Series: Oh Wonder [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bucky on ice, Darcy being badass, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Pt 2, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-18 12:36:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9385472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonandWinter/pseuds/MoonandWinter
Summary: The events before 'I Feel Safe in the 5am Light.'  And then after.Darcy finds a man on ice. Slowly and painfully falls for him.





	1. Chapter 1

The muscles on the back of her legs burned from exertion, even as she stood perfectly still.

The air is painful. _Cold and sharp._

Fog engulfs her vision.

Her palms rubbed tender thighs with force, hoping to both calm and warm them. Neither happens.

Whatever room she had found herself in was freezing; beyond the normal chilly temperature of these underground levels.

The thin fog from her breath hung steadily in the air, just inches from her face before gently dissipating.

Seconds passed as she quietly settled into a low crouch, tucking the edges of her overly large sweater tight across her chest.

Darcy had to wait as her glasses cleared, counting slowly to keep the unease from settling in the pit of her stomach.

The space was darkly lit, ominous in it’s very existence, with towering machines she couldn’t quite see.

Something about this room screamed foreboding.

It was initially why she chose here to hide from her pursuer.

The loud hammering of her heart was the only other sound save for a soft far off beeping coming from one of the mysterious machines in the center of the chilly room.

But it was the heavy steel door that drew her attention as she hunkered low, hugging her body against the far wall. 

No shadows could be seen under or around the frame, not with the massive security panels ensuring no visibility. Her pursuer could be out there right now, stalking his prey.

And here she hid, in a room that wasn’t supposed to be here yet was.

Schrodinger’s ice box. Darcy smiled softly.

The soft beeping continued, muted by her breathing but still loud enough to be noticed.

The tight knot in her stomach loosened only when several minutes passed.

Each beep became a lifeline. Her heart slowed and steadied, keeping in time with the slow rhythm.

And after more time, she breathed deeply and settled into the calm.

_He couldn’t find her_.

Darcy’s grin was lopsided but genuine as she stood on aching feet. The thick knit sweater, one of her favorites, helped keep her body warm against the frigid chamber but did nothing for her toes. She’d gotten the warning of imminent danger while in her apartment, some 20 floors up. She hadn’t bothered finding shoes.

There hadn’t been time for shoes.

Her feet hurt like hell as she paced the concrete floor, but that also meant they weren’t in danger of frost bite.

Not yet, anyway.

The muted beep was closer now as Darcy held out her cell phone to use as a makeshift flashlight; it’s odd blue glow illuminating the surprisingly modern machines.

Instead of fifty-year-old rusted computers, she was shocked to see top of the line equipment, all placed neatly in the center of the icy room. No cords ran along the floor making her wonder about the power source, but before she could even examine it, her attention was caught on the glass… _thing_.

A massive cylinder, tube even, lay mostly upright in the center of the room. It’s tall rounded walls were clear, though its contents were shrouded in heavy shadows. Everything seemed to be placed _specifically_ around the bizarre structure.

It looked like something out a science fiction movie.

Her heart danced wildly as her mind raced with hundreds of terrifying speculations. Considering who her boss was and the other, less than pleasant creations of his, she began to feel dizzy.

Shadows fluttered across the room. The hand that held her light source was shaking; the only outward sign of her uneasiness.

But she was Darcy Lewis, after all. Bravery in the face of fear, and all.

A deep breath, followed by fog. And then she raised her phone, chasing away the shadows from inside the container.

“What the _fuck_?”

The expletive echoed through the small chamber and she barely registered her own voice.

The soft blue light of her phone cast an eerie glow on the contents.

Or rather, the man.

Only his face was visible, though she was sure she could see more if she wanted to.

But she did _not_ want to see more.

She didn’t even want to see his face, no matter how strangely familiar it was. Or how handsome, in its frozen state.

And she was _positive_ that he was indeed frozen.

The heart monitors soft beeps, the readouts of brain activity. Cryo-tech was something she had assumed was yet to be founded, but in the wake of finding this man, it was obvious that _someone_ figured out how to do it.

And of course she worked for him…

“What the hell is this-,” She started to whisper to no one, but was interrupted by the loud buzzing from her phone. She jumped back in shock, almost dropping the small device.

Several second of calming breaths passed, though she didn’t dare take her eyes off the darkened tube. She’d seen enough horror movies to know better.

Finally, she glanced at her phone, still shaking but not as jumpy.

A text.

_‘Can’t find you. You win. Coffee for a month.’_

Normally Darcy would be elated, gloating all the way back to the towers main floor, but if felt like her whole life had tilted a little to the side with the discovery of a frozen man, hidden beneath Stark towers.

The sound of her departure was as quiet as her entrance, though her mind was now filled with a million questions and a million more ideas as to how to get answers without giving away her knowledge.

_‘We agreed on coffee AND bagels for a month. Darcy 5. Barton 1. I’m on a roll ;)’_ She hurriedly replied with cold stiff fingers.

One last worried glance over her shoulder, and she left with no sign that she’d ever been there, save for the tiny spike in the machines readouts. An anomaly so minute it was easy to overlook.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Heavy eyes stared at her fidgeting figure. They didn’t need to say anything. She knew.

She knew _they knew_ about her little run-in with the frozen man down below.

It’s not like you could really keep it a secret. This was Stark’s building. His personal safety net. So of course, he’d know she’d managed to find one of the many “non-existing” rooms.

This room was wide and still, the weighted silence only encouraging her desire to flee. But Jane was there to keep peace. The small woman would ensure these intimidating people wouldn’t do her harm.

“Ms. Lewis.” Stark began, using a formality that hadn’t been there at their previous meetings. She sighed, rubbing her forehead, a new migraine was budding behind her eyes. He continued, despite her obvious discomfort.

“Yesterday you were discovered on camera entering restricted areas of the undergrounds.” He paused, the slouch of his shoulders suggesting the weight of something much heavier than the Iron Suit.

“I was following directions, Stark.” Darcy mumbled, wishing that this pseudo-interrogation would end with no more than a slap on the wrist.

“Those being?” Her boss questioned with a sharply raised brow.

From across the room, the slick and often quiet voice of Clint Barton chimed in, much to her relief.

“My orders, Tony. The girl needs to learn how to survive if she’s going to be involved with us.” Hawkeye moved from his perch above the winding staircase. The Avengers living space might not have been Tony’s first choice of an interrogation room, but it’s the only one Jane had agreed upon.

The archer threw his pull glove on the table and promptly took his seat opposite of Rogers, who remained as quiet and still as before. Only his eyes danced across the room, taking in every minute change.

Darcy sighed again, rubbing her temple. The table now had several familiar faces, half of which looked at her like she was untrustworthy.

All because of the man.

At some point in the night, it had dawned on her.

What he was.

Who he was.

“I didn’t think there would be,” She paused forcing the gears in her brain to work, even as they protested. “-anything unusual down there. I figured it was a great place to hide.”

“It was.” Clint smiled at her, attempting to reassure her growing unease. “I even tried to get Friday to give me your location and _she_ couldn’t find you.”

“That’s because there are none of _my_ systems on those two floors.” Stark cut in, his face was impassive but Darcy could see his mind flying a million miles per hour. Suppose it had to, with a mind like his.

A voice made of silk and silver entered the conversation as if it had always been. It’s tenure both calming and terrifying, that only which could belong to the Black Widow.

“Darcy, it’s important to understand that over the last two years, we have had some major upsets both outside of and within our team. We are simply trying to assess the dangers here.” 

“I understand that. I do. I’m really just a nobody who got mixed up in _all this_.” Without grace, she gestured to the whole gathering. “I get the coffee. I help Jane not forget to eat or sleep. I make Thor laugh. Pretty much sums up my job.” Her migraine was now pounding away at her skull, effectively killing her filter. If only they would have let her have one cup of coffee before rushing her into this.

The room remained silent.

Heavy eyes once more, though now she felt more frustration than anxiety.

“Are you going to kick me out?” She muttered meekly, not daring to look at any one particularly.

A breath escaped somewhere, and she wasn’t sure but it sounded like Clint being elbowed.

“No Ms. Lewis. Despite this formal conversation, we don’t believe you had any actual malicious intention.”

It was Rogers who now spoke. His words snaked around the fear that had creeped into her heart and killed it. The rule around here was, whatever the Captain says, goes.

She nodded, smiled a little, then went back to staring at the small patterns in the hem of her sweater.

“Right.” Stark mumbled, having stood. It was obviously a sign that the meeting would be over.

But, whether it was from the migraine or the annoying curiosity that plagued her, Darcy couldn’t help but pause.

“Um.” Lamely, but loud enough for them to hear.

“Do you have a question, Darcy?” Asked Natasha. Her eyes had never left Darcy, of that she was sure. Something in the way she looked at her right then made her think that the Russian simply knew what was bugging her. And perhaps she did, being the world’s best spy and all.

“Well,” Heavy eyes. Heavy mind.

Breathe.

“Why is The Winter Soldier frozen in the basement?”


	3. Chapter 3

Time was, for all intents and purposes, null and void. At least it was here, down in the secretive icy cellars of Stark towers; hidden below both heroes and villains.

She’d been staring at him, the man frozen, for probably only been a few minutes, but it felt like hours. Precious moments stolen away to be kept close to her chest.

What did _time_ seem like to him? Would he awake like a person does in the morning after a restful sleep, or will be jolt up as if he’d only just laid down? Would he be frightened or fierce?

Would he even know who he was?

Questions and uncertainty were becoming a dangerously common occurrence with Darcy, especially after the ‘ _talk’._

Darcy’s breath clung in the air in wispy clouds. Even surrounded by cavernous concrete walls, hidden below the earth like a dirty secret, she felt a keen sense of _rightness_ being here with James Barnes.

The clean white light, coming from a curiously new installment overhead, illuminated his features, leaving none of the previous terror she had felt during their first encounter.

Other emotions, however, were present. Confusion, as her questions had only been minimally answered by the people upstairs. Anger at their distrust. Joy that they hadn’t moved him or prevented her from coming back. Confusion again _, as to why not._

“I just don’t get it.” She muttered aloud, pleased to find that her voice did not echo as she’d excepted. Feeling more confident here, with the company of a person who could not judge her, Darcy paced.

“I suppose I know who you are,” Darcy whispered, her fingers trailed across a silently running machine. The monitor glowed dimly, showing hikes in lines, a steady dance on the screen. “At least from the public databases and TV specials.” A shiver ran through her spine, reminding her of the world in which she lived. An odd sadness descended upon her, but Darcy was determined to shake off the weight of it and find the truth.

“But I had to dig a little harder. The files Natasha put online were easy to find but a lot of yours were redacted. And missing.”

Back and forth she strolled, trying to walk the answers out of the room. Talking to inanimate objects was a thing that helped her work through some of life’s more frustrating issues, but this was very different in a way that she could barely comprehend.

Because Darcy could almost feel his life. As if his energy lay dormant under ice, frozen but alive. Unconsciously _there._

“The Howling commandos were rad. But then you disappeared.” She paused in front of his confinement, looking over the pale still figure. Under the thin white sleeveless shirt, a multitude of scars and puckered skin decorated his torso. The tender flesh where man met metal burned her heart in an unexpected way.

“They did horrible things to you.” Darcy muttered darkly. “And for some reason, now you are _here._ Hidden away and frozen, like some sort super evil secret; which by the way, is totally bull shit. I mean, you were a war hero! A bona-fide P.O.W. with a history of saving the literal world. And here Stark thinks he can just... just.. lock you away and keep you quiet?!”

An echo of anger bounced off the walls and maybe a part of her wasn’t just mad for him but for her as well.

The world in which she had become accustomed to was ever moving, changing and twisting into something darker. Some faces of heroes became ominous, and the future became questionable. But in this, there was one thing that always held Darcy together. A saying the Lewis women carried close to heart.

Right now, with the person before you; _that’s all that matters_. Let the world keep turning or burn, but be aware of now. Exactly _now._

So she did as she always had done.

Everything else fell away, melting into another place for her to worry over at a later time. This room with him was a world aside from that. It was safe here, and she felt in her bones a bond to this strange frozen man.

Darcy rambled in her calm and soft way. She spoke of the meeting, explaining to this unmoving figure the frustration and mixed emotions she felt. Of Stark and his panic induced suspicions. Of Clint and his kind-hearted gestures. Of Natasha and her ever knowing ways.

Of Steve, his old best friend. Darcy sat close to the tube, hugging her knees as she explained that The Captain came back to Stark towers after some important event was called into play. Something other worldly and scary enough to supersede the thinly veiled hostility throughout the gang.

She told him how Rogers was constantly tense, solid, and strict with everyone save Natasha, Sam Wilson, and sometimes Clint. She told him how she wished she could’ve met Steve and him before… everything. The history books made them out to be all-American hoodlums. It sounded kinda awesome and right up her alley.

She told the silent, cold man about Thor and Jane, even laughing a bit trying to describe the rainbow bridge. The desire to explain her relationships to all of these colorful characters was for him. If he was in there listening, maybe he’d not feel so alone.

The sounds of steady, soft beeping and her low tenure were the only things to be heard.

Time had no meaning here.

Again, _time was, for all intents and purposes, null and void._

By the end of her visit, many hours having past, Darcy had vowed to come back again. To bring him news of the world, if only to help ease her heart. Maybe he heard her. Maybe not.

Call her an optimistic, but Darcy liked to think that Sargent Barnes was merely resting; waiting for a day that was safe for him. And when that day came, she’d be there to help guide him, to be a friend he could rely on, even if or when the others turned face.


	4. Janes visit

The painful heat of full summer descended upon Manhattan. One could rely on several things happening during these weeks of sudeo-hell temperatures. The smell of steam and sewage was everywhere and unavoidable, the general irritability of people too hot and uncomfortable to be bothered with basic human manners, and of course, villains in full bloom.

It was like the heat _turned_ people bad.

Either way, it kept the tower empty.

Not a hero to be seen, unless you include Jane, which Darcy _does._

Nearly two weeks had passed since Darcy had first encountered The Winter Soldier. Investigating the reasons as to why he was there led to tight lipped faces and stiff replies. It made her curiosity intensify.

Not even her long-standing friendship with Clint stood ground where Sargent J. Barnes was concerned. Despite her many tries, he insisted that she was safer not knowing.

Really, blind ignorance keeps people safe? Pshht.

Also, danger had never stopped her from getting to the bottom of shadowy and adventurous things. Call her Velma, because she had a freaking mystery to solve and heroes be damned.

But the days were long and her work load had inexplicably tripled. Two of the past seven nights, she’d fallen into bed with work clothes on; asleep before her head hit the pillow. It was cruel and entirely _their_ point.

Which is why she found herself actively seeking out the ice box man and his calm presence on more than a few occasions.

Narrowly escaping Maria and her folders of doom, Dancy had managed several more visits. Night times sneaks, lunch breaks, second lunch breaks…

He, obviously, hadn’t changed. The room, however, had.

The temperature had been upped slightly, though if she got close to the gleaming frosty tube, she could feel a cold blast of air filtering in through the upper vents. A new light had been installed at some point between her last visits, dimly glowing. Illuminating the chamber in a soft white light.  

And best of all, there was a new chair.

A big comfortable green and blue plaid chair that rocked ever so slightly. It smelled of coffee and pine.  

It was very _Steveish._

Darcy’s visit wasn’t quick, nor was it as long as she’d hoped, only managing to read five chapters of Game of Thrones to James Barnes before her phone dinged. All other settings were turned off, except Janes number.

Reluctantly, she answered.

“Where are you?” The scientist’s voice seemed so loud down here where there were no sounds other than a low but steady beeping. A heart pumping slowly, barely there.

“Reading, why what’s up?” Darcy asked, already shoving her things into her large carpet bag. She looked over her shoulder, as if to apologize to the frozen man. The next chapters will have to wait.

“Well I’m here in your room and _you_ are not sooo….”

Jane is waiting for her? Weird. The woman was usually kept even busier than Darcy, and with everything going on up in space and here, she thought for sure Jane would be MIA for a few weeks at least. 

“I’m on my way up. Is Thor with you?”

“No. He’s still busy searching.”

Darcy made a rather ridiculous noise and started up the plethora of steps. Nearly two stories up before an elevator became accessible.

But she didn’t complain. At least her glutes will be looking killer in no time.  

By the time she reached the elevators, however, Darcy was ready to nap. The ride up was quick, if not boring. Stark hadn’t bothered with elevator music for the Avengers privates ones.

Dumb.

Boring though it was, it gave Darcy a bit of time to compose herself. Still unsure of how much Jane knew, it was getting harder to be around her. Her lovesick puppy eyes had vanished, and Darcy had a feeling this might be the “talk”.

Ugh.

The door to her apartment slid open soundlessly as her face scanner did it’s creepy scanning thing. Jane was already half a bowl deep of Cherry Garcia when Darcy entered, dropping her bags by the door.

“Where have you been?” Her friend asked, mouth still full of sweet ice cream.

“Jeez, nice to see you to.” Darcy laughed, briskly tossing her many layers off and into her open bedroom door.

“You’ve been seeing the frozen dude.” Jane quipped, ignoring all manners as usual.

“I’ve been keeping him company. Reading. It’s not like I’m hurting him.” She relied defensively, pulling herself out a bowl.

The two women sat on the kitchen counter, feet kicking, eating much more than the recommended amount of ice cream.

“The others think you should… get out some.” Jane finally blustered. To Darcy’s amazement, the other woman went pink in the ears. “You know. Go on some dates. Get…”

“Laid?” Darcy supplied, knowing exactly who gave her that bit of advice. She’d have to remember to kick Barton in the nuts next time their paths crossed.

“It’s just… They think you are lonely.”

“Well duh! Everyone is so god damn busy. And I get I don’t have super powers and shit, but like, I’m treated like the stupid coffee girl. None of the non-heroes bothers to talk to me. I’m like, invisible.”

Jane was silent a moment, and Darcy instantly felt terrible for lashing out at her friend. The only person who puts time aside to make sure she’s doing ok.

“Look, I know I’m not the best source of relationship advice, but… I don’t know. Try?” Jane grunted, surely ruminating about her own frustrating relationship. “Paul from diagnostics, he’s been asking about you. He’s cute, right?”

It would have made her laugh, Jane trying to get her a hookup, had it not been for the very real feelings of loneliness she’d been faced with.

The only time she hadn’t felt so achingly alone was when she was down in the cellars with him. He listened, not that he had a choice but still she felt deep in her soul that he truly listened.

But what if he never came out of the ice. What if he was… a villain. Or worse. What if he had hated her being there.

And before she knew it, Darcy was agreeing to a dinner and drinks with Paul from diagnostics for the following night.

She’d been duped by a group of heroes and her closeted friend. She’d been set up. For a date….

 


End file.
